A CLAM PURPORTING on social media, especially on X (Formerly Twitter) that Bello Turji, a notorious bandits leader who is known for kidnapping and killing innocent civilians in Nigeria, was captured by the Nigeria Army.
A verified X user, @de_generalnoni posted an image of Turji on January 27, 2025, with a caption that read; “Notorious Bello Turji has been arrested by *The Galant forces of @HQNigerianArmy.
Thank you President Tinubu ”.
As of press time, the claim has attracted 13,200 views, 48 comments, 64 reposts, 279 reactions and 7 bookmarks.
Another verified X user, @G_Buhar posted on January 27, 2025 that Turji was arrested by the Nigerian army. His caption reads; “Notorious Bello Turji has been arrested by *The Galant forces of @HQNigerianArmy”.
The claim has also generated 44.4 views, 170 comments, 181 reposts, 560 reactions and 16 bookmarks as of press time.
The claim was also posted here, here and here on Facebook.
CLAIM
Bello-Turji, a bandit’s wanted leader Arrested By the Nigerian Army.
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THE FINDINGS
Findings by The Explainer Indicate that The claim is FALSE!
When The Explainer contacted Major General Edward Buba, Director of Defence Media Operations who said that the news of Turji’s arrest was false news.
“All news regarding the arrest of Bello Turji by troops should be treated as fake news, please”, his message reads.
Further, ZagalozaMakama, a security analyst on Lake Chad also debunked the arrest of Turji on his verified X account.
His caption on the image of Turji reads, “The news circulating regarding the alleged arrest of Bello Turji by troops of Operation Fasan Yanma is false.
The purported audio recording, in which two individuals are heard claiming that Bello Turji has been captured, is misleading and lacks any credible basis. We urge the public to disregard such unfounded rumours”.
The security expert further stated that Bello Turji remains at large, and from the last check, security forces are intensifying efforts to locate and apprehend him.
When The Explainer ran a keyword search, no credible newspapers reported the arrest of Bello Turji.
VERDICT
The claim that Bello Turji was arrested by the Nigerian Army is FALSE as the Army defence media operation, Buba debunked his arrest.